During a time of economic uncertainty, patent infringement lawsuits may increase as patent owners seek to monetize their assets and protect their market share. For the defendant, the time and costs of defending in a patent lawsuit can add to…
Read More Inter Partes Review amid Patent Infringement Litigation: A Brief Review of Apple v. Fintiv
On October 13, 2022, the USPTO issued a final ruling wherein it delayed effectuation of its rule shortening the period for responding to office actions for trademark registration applications filed under Lanham Act Sections 1 and 44 and for responding…
Read More Delay of Effective Date for Shorter Period for Trademark Office Action Responses
Dr. Stephen Thaler filed two patent applications in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (‘USPTO”) directed to inventions generated by an artificial intelligence (“AI”) system that he developed, Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Science (“DABUS”), naming DABUS…
Given its alluring profitability, the medical device industry is highly competitive. A patent, consequently, is of high value to medical device companies; it protects their market share and helps attract investors. When bringing a medical device to the market, however,…
Read More Patentability Risks for Medical Devices in the 510(k) Clearance Process
Although the freedom of contract provides parties with broad discretion in defining the scope of a force majeure clause, in general, a force majeure clause is a contractual provision that excuses the nonperformance of contractual obligations in circumstances beyond a…
COVID-19 can be problematic for intellectual property licensing arrangements, especially with respect to the performance of duties owed under common provisions for royalties and sales requirements. The operational and financial hardships imposed by COVID-19 can make fulfilling these duties immensely…
Read More COVID-19 in the Context of Intellectual Property Licenses
Under United States trademark law, in general, a “trademark” is a word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination thereof, used in connection with a good in commerce to identify and distinguish the source of the good from others. In order to…
Read More Distinguishing Generic and Descriptive Marks under United States Trademark Law
Effective as of October 2, 2020, fees associated with inter partes review ("IPR") and post grant review ("PGR") proceedings will increase as follows: IPR request fee (up to 20 claims) will increase from $15,500 to $19,000. IPR post-institution fee (up…
Read More Fees Associated with IPR and PGR Proceedings Increase on October 2, 2020
Section 102(a) of the Copyright Act provides that copyright protection extends to “original works of authorship” that are “fixed in a tangible medium of expression . . . .” “Works of authorship” include “literary works.” A computer program is a…
Read More Copyright Protection for Computer Programs: Copyrightability and A Notable Limitation
On June 20, 2020, the USPTO updated MPEP 706.07(b), the rule by which USPTO examiners are to adhere in issuing a first Office final rejection of the claims in a new patent application. MPEP 796.07(b) presently provides that the claims…
